• Hilary MacCormick, Les T Johnson, Drew Burchell, Allana Munro, Gianni R Lorello, Ronald B George, and M Dylan Bould.
• Department of Women's & Obstetric Anesthesia (MacCormick, Munro), IWK Health; Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine (MacCormick, Munro) and Centre for Learning and Teaching (Johnson), Dalhousie University; Centre for Research in Family Health (Burchell), IWK Health, Halifax, NS; Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (Lorello), University of Toronto; Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management (Lorello), University Health Network - Toronto Western Hospital; Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (George), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (Bould), Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont. hilarykate@dal.ca.
• CMAJ. 2024 Jul 1; 196 (24): E806E815E806-E815.

BackgroundTransgender and nonbinary (TNB) people experience obstacles that create barriers to accessing health care, including stigmatization and health inequities. Our intention was to describe the lived experiences of TNB patients and identify potential gaps in the education of health care professionals.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative descriptive study influenced by phenomenology by interviewing with TNB adults who underwent surgery in Canada within the previous 5 years. We recruited participants using purposeful and snowball sampling via online social networking sites. Audio recordings were transcribed. Two authors coded the transcripts and derived the themes.ResultsWe interviewed 21 participants, with a median interview duration of 49 minutes. Participants described positive and negative health care encounters that led to stress, confusion, and feelings of vulnerability. Major themes included having to justify their need for health care in the face of structural discrimination; fear and previous traumatic experiences; community as a source of support and information; and the impact of interactions with health care professionals.InterpretationParticipants detailed barriers to accessing care, struggled to participate in shared decision-making, and desired trauma-informed care principles; they described strength in community and positive interactions with health care professionals, although barriers to accessing gender-affirming care often overshadowed other aspects of the perioperative experience. Additional research, increased education for health care professionals, and policy changes are necessary to improve access to competent care for TNB people.© 2024 CMA Impact Inc. or its licensors.

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